


Waiting

by axolotlnerd-campcamp (axolotlNerd)



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, NOT MAXVID, Short One Shot, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-14 16:06:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13011327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/axolotlNerd/pseuds/axolotlnerd-campcamp
Summary: The city bus had dropped the kids off at the bus station, and he waited.Waited as everyone was picked up by their loving, and sometimes not-so-loving, parents.Waited as the sun set and the fall began to kick in.Waiting.





	Waiting

Cold wind bit at his skin, chilling him to the core. Though there was still warm summer lingering in the air, a cold front was moving in, signaling the beginning of fall. He was grateful he had his hoodie, but a different type of cold seeped through the fabric, burying itself in his skin. He almost convinced himself that it brought him physical pain, though he was sure it did not.

_They forgot._

He felt warmth begin behind his eyes, wet and contrasting the night that surrounded him. How many hours had it been since he first got left here? He wasn’t sure, and it made the cold worse when he thought about it.

Maybe he should have expected it. In fact, part of him probably did, and he just hadn’t let it sink in until now. The cold that kept burying itself deeper in him told him he deserved this, and he considered that maybe he should believe it. But the truth was that he _didn’t_  deserve this. No child should wait like this, be this cold both inside and out.

He heard footsteps approaching him, but he ignored it. He already knew who it was. Instead he favored hiding his misty eyes behind his knees as he curled into himself, waiting on the bus bench.

David wanted to say something, but he didn’t. He knew it was better not to say anything. Carefully, he picked up the dark-haired kid, holding him to his chest in the hopes of bringing some warmth to the kid.

Max did not sob, or sniffle, or even truly cry as his camp counselor carried him not too far away from the cold and lonely bus stop, to the old SUV the man drove. Tears escaped his eyes, but he was not crying. If he was, he wouldn’t have ever admitted to it.

_They forgot. Again._

He told himself this because he didn’t want to accept the alternatives - the fact that maybe they did not forget but instead, just did not care. He knew this was likely the case, but he refused to acknowledge it.

The drive was short and warm, a different kind of warm that tried it’s best but could not break these new, frozen over walls. Neither of the boys said anything to each other; Max believed nothing needed to be said while David was waiting for Max to say something, anything.

When they got to David’s small apartment, the adult got out of the car, venturing over to the passenger’s seat to carry Max once again. He wanted to fight it, but he simply couldn’t bring himself to. He was simply too cold.

Though David only had one twin bed that was too small for his spider-like legs, he gladly sacrificed it for the kid. Carefully, he put the kid down and pulled a blanket over him, almost wordlessly.

Almost.

“I promise I’ll make it better.”

The words were so simple, and from the knowledge of the world Max had gained, probably untrue. Still, a reckless spark of hope lit up in him at the words. David left the room silently, going to the couch in the living room to sleep for the night.

But Max didn’t fall asleep. He simply laid in the bed, staring at the dark walls as he waited. Though for what, he wasn’t actually sure. Was it for sleep, or the sunrise? Or was it for the morning when he’d wake up to find this all some bad dream, where he’d wake up with a loving family that didn’t forget and didn’t leave him at a cold bus station in the city?

Silently and without complaint, he waited to warm up. 

Waited for that promise to ring true. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was requested from a prompt list on my Camp Camp tumblr! You can find me on there as more-camp-camp-fic-please, and sometimes I take requests! Please come and visit me over there!


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